Fun!!!!!

It is so nice that David Tennant used his charity wish to do a short episode with his favorite doctor.

Of the three specials, this has the heaviest lift in terms of moving the pieces around for the future. Overall, a success but would have loved if it was a half hour longer so we could spend more time with The Toymaker. NPH was deliciously evil in the part but I needed more than a few monologues to make this feel like a proper scary standoff.

Wasn't on board with the bi-generation until I realized that this is how we get The Curator and now it is perfect. I hope every ten years, we get a new chapter in his journeys!

OH MY GOD THAT WAS TERRIFYING.

Not enough can be said for this crew's specific ability of nailing tone. Abject terror flows from the point of Tennant putting his face to the glass and Donna realizing how far she is from her family, light, and all of existence. Genuinely frightened every time they all stared each other down. The budget is on full display here but it's those old darkened corridors and tight script that gets the job done.

God bless Davies for doing what needed to be acknowledged re: the Flux. Who better than Tennant to grapple with The Doctor's failings. Magnificent work all around.

I have nothing critical to add because this brought me back to when I first started watching Doctor Who except now I am older but yes I will still ugly sob for The Doctor and Donna!!! I feel like The Doctor openly saying how much he loves Donna and Wilf is because of his time as Jodie, which I quite enjoy. Everything about Rose made my heart soar. More of this please. We need so much more of this.

I have always held this one up as one of the best and upon rewatching it, I somehow think I was STILL UNDERESTIMATING IT! Really quite enamored with the set design and art direction here. It feels so classically sci-fi. Like right out of a battered paperback. The villains design is simple yet truly terrifying in its execution. Kind of like the 456 in Torchwood, their attack is so simple but the cinematography and the score never let the budget restraints show too much.

It's been awhile since Tennant had a decent scene partner and his work with Lindsey Duncan is SO GOOD!!!! I can't describe how devastating Tennant's turn is. Everything in the sequence of him walking away pays off in such a beautiful subversion of our established hero's trademark. It's terrifying. It's fantastic. I want to kiss it to death.

I love how immediately delighted the tenth doctor is when he thinks he's met a future version of himself. The main story is a bit dull but also giant steampunk robot plus some more fun what makes the doctor the doctor type questions make for an enjoyable romp!

The very simple structure of it feels very similar to a classic era Who story, which I enjoyed! That one tiny scene of Malcolm standing up to Captain Magambo and then her own shocked reaction to both his bravery and how she realizes what she's capable of. WOW.

I think when I first saw this, I didn't like it because I felt it was slight and didn't have any narrative weight. But knowing what's coming next, I think it's good we got one more light hearted romp in here.

I don't like that Rickson lives and my beloved Foon and Morvin die! Otherwise a very silly fun romp!

Love that Donna said hell no I'm not going with you wtf you tried to kill them kids.

I had forgotten how great the setup for this special was. The editing and the structure to get us our three doctors is fun, informative for the plot and gives you a clear sense of The Doctor's identity. All performances are terrific (except for Tennant's hair which should be doing the spiky swoop thing). Some of the cinematography is a bit odd and jarring. Mostly some hand held shots that seem less stylistic in nature and more of a time saver.

Tom Baker's cameo brings me so much joy. His every gesture and cadence choice feels directly attached to his run on the show. A legend. Might just run off to buy some more of his Big Finish ranges right now!

When this aired, I hated the retcon. Gallifrey being burned to the ground in the time war was pivotal to The Doctor's identity in the new era. A horrible decision which puts so much dramatic tension on his shoulders. It set the stakes for Eccleston's run and has carried through with every calculation made by The Doctor.

Upon this rewatch, I don't know what to make of it. Perhaps it doesn't matter. What matters is that, after all those years, he dared to find another way. And that's The Doctor we all know and love.

Better than I remembered but still feels off. Moffat really leaning into The Doctor feeling depressed post Amy and Rory is kinda boring. I like Matt Smith playing The Doctor as an old man but the material doesn't fit. Is he old or does he just miss his mates?

Moffat loves his wink wink lines, some of them work and some of them make me groan. It sometimes gives the impression that he's over it, that he's now above the material. It's a hard transition from his earlier fairy tale work into a new era but I love Clara so much, I'm willing to look past the trappings.

Decent enough! A year since the last momentous emotional Christmas special and no regular season in between makes this kind of like a bonus treat for making us wait. I know I've said it in a lot of other reviews but my goodness Capaldi is so charming. Makes up for the lackluster plot.

Also just now picked up on why he says 24 years. That's so good.

A really fun romp, full of screwball comedy moments. After the seriousness of season 9, it's a relief to see The Doctor having fun. Capaldi is so terrific here, his version of a person seeing the TARDIS for the first time is incredible. All of his little expressions are gold.

This is the closest we'll ever get to having River Song be the main character (aside from her Big Finish adventures). Really puzzling why they wouldn't give her a spinoff series.

The beginning of Moffat's run where he tried to subvert all the tropes that he spent so long mastering. It leads to some real clunkers but for now, this special feels fresh and fun and does a great job of focusing on Clara and The Doctor's relationship. I think it's also the rare Christmas special where it moves the plot of the show forward.

Not as bad as I remembered it being. Still has a lot of pacing issues. There are a number of scenes that could be cut and you wouldn't miss them at all. Strax doing a medical examination of Clara? Nobody needs! Capaldi is superb right out of the gate and Clara continues to shape up into being more than her shitty origin story stuck her with. I do hate how much Moffat falls back on the lazy joke of oh aliens not understanding human behavior. Strax offering Clara a bucket of water, this is humor?

Also slightly resent how much the show felt it needed to convince people to give Capaldi a shot after their hot boyfriend Matt Smith left. I know the reasons why they had to do it and I know they took a huge hit in the ratings department but he's too incredible in the role for anyone to doubt him. Plus that teaser at the end? Welcome to a whole new show and boy oh boy it's gonna be fun.

SCREAMED for every bit of fan service. Chibnall did more to honor the classic era than Moffat did in the 50th and for that I thank him. Not enough praise can be given for Sacha Dhawan. He manages to be bombastic while still quickly pivoting to the sadness underneath. It's hardly even a pivot, it all somehow exists in the same moment.

Wish we had more time with Jodie. A bit odd that she's the only doctor who splits her last episode with previous versions of herself. She's been so wonderful in this role. Always trying to just have some fun with her friends. I love her wit, her childish glee at the unexplored, and her kindness.

Yaz piloting the TARDIS and saving The Doctor is amazing and I will FOREVER BE UPSET THAT THEY DIDN'T AT LEAST KISS ONCE!!!!! I'm docking this half a star because I think the last two scenes shouldn't have been intercut. The support group should have played first and then give the rest over to The Doctor's final now.

I started rewatching new who and all its spinoff shows in air date order back in January and somehow managed to finish the rewatch two days before this premiered. I have loved my time watching The Doctor wander through galaxies helping those in need and above all else, running as fast as they could. Whatta run for a show. I loved every bit of it with all my hearts.

All of the stars are for Yaz and The Doctor. This episode feels so off in its editing and staging. Generously, I feel like that had to be from filming in covid times. But still feels really weird to watch a sword fight and feel zero excitement whatsoever. I hope in the years to come, we'll get to hear what happened behind the scenes.

I'm hoping this proves to be the Planet of the Dead for Jodie's last run. A semi decent special before the next one that delivers on everything we come to expect from Doctor Who.

Proper quips, good villain and JODIE!!!!!!! Love that she built her own sonic and LOVE how fast she's like "yup we're best friends!"

Also Grace would have been a terrific full season companion and as much as I love Graham, he feels like the inverse of a typical DW companion. Which I guess is to be expected from an old show in its 11th series.

And yes of course I am now reading into every glance Yaz and The Doctor share together I AM INCONSOLABLE